I have heard that the bus trip - or any vehicle for that matter - from/to Oaxaca City and the ocean is a nightmare..... looooong and curvey. Did I mention long? And then you get to do it again. But alas I have no personal experience doing that!

It is 5 hours and curvy not the end of the world. I drive it and survive it.. There are flights to Puerto Escondido and you could take public transportation from there.. I like the Zipolite and Mazunte beach and town.. Zipolite is cloth optional the other one is a regular beach with nice restaurants, a turte refuge , very in for ex hippies, surfers and green people..and French and Italians and young Mexico people..etcThere are lots of beaches all along the coast but you need to take detours because the coastal highway does not go near the beaches..San Agustinillo, San Agustin, Puerto Angel are all little town between Puerto Escondido and Huatulco. Huatulco has 7 bays some with nothing , some with small villages... , It is a nice coast to visit , go for it you will enjoy it.

You can either way via Tehuantepec or Pochutla.. I think Pochutla is longer and it ends up at Zipolite and Mazunte.. Be ready for slow going and lots and lots of curves for hours.

Many of the beaches near the resorts are fairly steep with quick dropoffs. When in Huatulco we like to take a taxi to one of the more distant beaches, It takes an hour or maybe a little less, the driver stays with us and we end up at a beautiful beach with huge palapa restaurant, gentle sloping beach. Popular with Chilango turistas and the day trip boats sometimes come in to snorkel. Any driver will know where and it's a great way to spend the day.

The coast down there is very nice but I would not go without a car.. The coastal highway is not right on the cost so you need to take roads or dirt roads to go to the water.. There are some wonderful little hidden areas accesible by dirt road or by water..and public transportation can be a pain if you really want to explore the area.. If you only go to one place like Huatulco or Puerto Escondido I guess then you can explore around there by cab or colectivo but you miss a lot.